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Syrian Supper Club
The scent of orange blossom filled the house in the old town of Damascus. The courtyard garden, complete with its orange tree, offered a relaxing haven from the hustle and bustle of the city that was home to Louisa Barnett and Rose Lukas. As students of Arabic, they moved to Damascus to learn the language and quickly fell in love with Syria’s intoxicating atmosphere and welcoming people. However, the spark of revolution had been lit across the Middle East, and this grew into a raging inferno that consumed Syria. In 2011, as the Arab Spring left chaos in its wake, the girls were forced to leave. Back in London,…
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Arabica Bar and Kitchen
You’re supposed to feed a cold, or so the saying goes. So when my birthday rolled around and I was feeling less than fabulous, it made perfect sense to go to one of the few restaurants where I could easily eat pretty much everything on the menu. Arabica Bar and Kitchen regularly features in Time Out London’s Top 100 Restaurants list, and it’s been on my radar for some time. With food “inspired by the sun rise nations of the Levant”, it offers more than your bog standard mezze restaurant. The menu features dishes such as whipped feta with chillies, mint and pumpkin seeds, Lebanese style roasted cod, and sticky…
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The Best Food and Drink of 2015
Yep, it’s the end of another year so time for yet another list. Here is my round up of the best things went into my mouth over the course of 2015: Chicken Berry Biryani from Dishoom I visited the Kings Cross branch of Dishoom all the way back in January but I still keep raving about their biryani. Tender meat, fluffy rice, a good amount of spice….it ticks all the biryani boxes but has the added bonus of cranberries. Plus the restaurant itself just looks so, so sexy. Spaghetti with Cuttlefish and Ink Sauce from Osteria Alba Nova Good food can be hard to find in tourist-ridden Venice, but venture…
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Duck and Waffle
After spending quite a bit of time hanging around in establishments at the top of tall buildings, I have realised that a pattern is emerging. The higher up in the sky you are, the worse the service usually is. Which is a shame for many reasons, not least because most of these places seem to implement a kind of “sky tax”, meaning you pay through the nose for the privilege of being there. True, the views are spectacular so at least you have something nice to stare at while you wait half an hour to get served at the bar (Hutong, I’m looking at you). However, is feeling like you’re…
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The Manor, Clapham
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10 Greek Street
I started this blog with the intention of working my way through Time Out London’s top 100 restaurants. Well, it’s now April and so far I have managed to visit just one restaurant from their list. I fail at converting intentions into reality. However, I have broken the seal with my visit to 10 Greek Street. In fact, the seal was veritably demolished, along with my lunch and my waistline. 10 Greek Street is as discrete and unassuming as its name. Small and spartan, with white walls, wooden flooring, and the dishes of the day chalked up on blackboards, it has that whole effortlessly chic thing down to a tee. Even the menus are…
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The Manor, Clapham
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Taking A Bite Out Of…Krakow (Part 2)
Having resigned myself to the fact that I may put on a pound or two while in Krakow (although calories on holiday don’t count, right?), it was time to fully embrace a cold weather diet. This was helped along by the fact that the best pierogi shop in Krakow – Przystanek Pierogarnia – was situated right at the end of my street. Pierogi are boiled dumplings usually filled with potato, cheese or meat – sometimes all three – and topped with fried onions. This is food that really sticks to your ribs. I went for the potato and bacon dumplings, and just kept going back for more…. Comfort food has…
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Taking A Bite Out Of….Krakow (Part 1)
Winter in London is a bit of a non-event really. On the rare occasion that it does snow, you can guarantee nothing but grey slush and deadly pavements in a matter of hours. So this year, I decided to escape the capital for somewhere that can offer a proper winter. The Polish city of Krakow did not disappoint. Not only did it provide lots of fluffy white snow for me to jump around in, it is also the best place to experience good, hearty winter cuisine to warm you through. My first meal in Krakow set the tone for my visit. Braving the drunken hoards of the Old Town, I headed to Pod Aniolami,…
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The Diner’s Review of January
Crash dieting. Dry January. Drinking kale smoothies for breakfast, lunch and dinner. January is a rubbish enough month as it is, so why make it worse by punishing yourself? I, for one, believe that January should be spent enjoying good food and drink to make up for the cold days and long nights. So, with this in mind, here is my round-up of what I ate & drank last month. Best Restaurant A spontaneous lunch at Dishoom at Kings Cross hit the spot on a freezing day. Stepping through the front door was like stepping into another world; a world of warm, humid days, lazily spinning ceiling fans, exotic drinks…
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Taking A Bite Out Of….Venice (Part 2)
I was starting to get more than a little disenchanted with Venetian dining. Everywhere was just so damn expensive! After wandering for what felt like hours on Saturday night, trying to find a suitable restaurant, I was almost ready to give up and head back to the apartment in a sulk. However, I then remembered walking past an interesting little restaurant earlier that day – and amazingly I actually managed to find it again! Osteria Alba Nova was cosy, dimly lit, and had an appealing menu that didn’t cost the earth. My smug satisfaction only increased when I was directed towards their specials board – wild boar, guinea fowl, duck…. I knew…
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The Manor, Clapham
“This drink tastes of plants” declared my dining companion. Our lurid green sorrel and elderflower bellinis were perhaps an inauspicious start to our meal at The Manor, as was our rather over-keen waitress who had seemingly been told to push the tasting menu for all it’s worth or risk pain of death. At one point, we did think that she was going to hang around the table while we perused the a la carte options, but thankfully duty called elsewhere. However, things only improved from then on. The Manor is owned by the team behind The Dairy, which has had rave reviews and full tables since it opened in Clapham last year.…
